Attacks on Huckabee Continue
26 December 2007For months Mike Huckabee was ignored by the pundits. Then suddenly, Huckabee began to look like a viable candidate and the long knives came out. There has been much speculation about why this might be. Huckabee’s camp speculates that many had already picked their candidate and when Huckabee began to surge he was perceived as a threat. I lean toward that interpretation myself.
I’ve been a Huckabee supporter for some time now. I’ve heard most all the criticisms and I’ve heard Huckabee’s defense of those criticisms. Take ethics charges in Arkansas. Like attacks against Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay on the national level, Democrats always resort to spurious ethics charges when when they can’t defeat a Republican on the merits. I have no problem believing this is the case in Arkansas. In the case of the wedding registry issue, Huckabee’s explanation is completely credible and sensible. Opponents who stick to that charge look stupid, just like Giuliani’s constant charge that Romney hired illegals when he did no such thing. Giuliani looked stupid then and Huckabee opponents look stupid sticking with spurious and silly charges.
On the immigration question I take issue with Huckabee. I think he is wrong about the children of illegal immigrants but I respect his position because I have anguished over the question of what to do with kids who’ve been here nearly all their lives. They don’t know any other country and they are not responsible for the situation they are in, their parents are. I disagree with Huckabee’s approach because it rewards and encourages illegal immigration but I understand where he’s coming from and this one issue is not a deal breaker for me.
There is one charge, leveled by Ann Coulter and others, that Huckabee wants to use the government to implement Jesus’ plans for the poor, that gives me serious pause. If true that would be a real deal breaker for me. I have no patience for social gospel advocates and I won’t have patience for Huckabee if I find he’s a social gospel adherent. But so far I’ve seen no evidence that it is true. Indeed, Huckabee has said that he’s running for President, not pastor in chief. Yes, he will make decisions based on his worldview. That seems to scare the pants off some people. But the fact is, everyone running will make decisions based on their worldview, Christian or not.
I’ve been reading the criticism and looking for evidence but so far I’m not seeing it. I’ve been quiet for a while now because, honestly, I was afraid some of this stuff might be true. But so far all I see is accusations. In every case Huckabee has responded and responded well. The one time he seemed somewhat flummoxed was in a interview with Laura Ingraham. But the reality is Ingraham was extremely combative from the start and Huckabee has little chance to finish an answer. It was clear to anyone listening that Ingraham was gunning for Huckabee.
Coulter also got some mileage from Huckabee’s plan to bring music and the arts back to education. She carries on like that’s just the silliest idea ever introduced. But it seems to me that Huckabee is simply talking about a liberal arts education, something most of our founding fathers strongly supported. There is something of a resurgence of the idea among private schools today and it’s an idea I support. The idea is that you cannot have a well rounded education without covering arts, literature, music, foreign language, history, science and math. Modern thinkers want to focus solely on science and math and maybe a little language thrown in for good measure. I believe the liberal arts approach is superior and it was unbecoming of Coulter to treat it like it was silly. I’m not sure where she got her undergrad but I suspect it might have been a liberal arts school.
Now let me be clear. I’m a fan of Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter and many others who are taking pot shots at Huckabee. In virtually every case it seems clear to me that they have already made up their minds for someone else. Ingraham is a case in point. I’ve heard her interview Mitt Romney. She threw softball questions one after the other. Not once did she go after him on anything. Clearly Romney is her guy. Now that’s fine but she isn’t being real honest about that fact. She’s acted as if she’s unbiased regarding Republican candidates when she clearly is not. It’s human nature to see anyone who threatens your chosen candidate as the enemy but that alone doesn’t make the criticism valid. It requires evidence and there seems to be precious little of that.
So far the only one I’ve seen who truly seems unbiased is Rush Limbaugh. If he’s picked a candidate I am hard pressed to tell who it might be. The Huckabee campaign takes on El Rushbo at their peril.
I will continue to watch the situation carefully. If there is something that might change my mind about Huckabee I want to know about it. Yes, he’s my guy. But I am willing to switch if he turns out not to be the real deal. To date I’ve seen nothing to sway me. And lest you think I’m not as willing to change as I say I am, recall that I started out supporting Fred Thompson so I’ve already switched once. I’ll switch again if new information comes along that convinces me a I should.
For now I’m just disgusted with the constant “conservative” attacks on Huckabee. I think it’s a mistake and it’s damaging to the party.
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Tags: Christianity, Conservatives, Education, Elections, Mike Huckabee, Politicians, Politics, Religion, RepublicansRelated Posts
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